The Waltz of the Bikes

Many people here in Australia simply cannot imagine themselves on a bike as a way of getting around.

I think that is because the dominant cycle culture suggests that you should be in Lycra, have your head down, and be going very fast to be a cyclist.

Even people going to work by bike often give off some of that vibe. As one writer said in our prominent cycle mag. "virtually every bike ridden here derives from a racing bike of some sort." And every rider is a prisoner of that that bike, one might add.

For the average person this is so alien that, as I say, they can't picture themselves as part of the scene, and yet it's not like that elsewhere. I put this film together to help people visualize themselves on a bike, enjoying it, feeling safe, sitting upright in a stately manner.

I had asked Violeta Brana-Lafourcade if she could shoot me some material of people making their ordinary journeys by bike in Amsterdam.

I was astonished by what she sent me. It was so hypnotic just watching people ride by. She'd positioned herself well, on a combination of busy streets and quieter roads besides canals. She used the humps which lead up to bridges to frame people rising.

She filmed all sorts, old young the classy and the ordinary. I saw it as a ballet and knew I had to cut it that way. Thanks, Violeta.